Mattaincourt

2010

Nursing home for the seriously disabled

Located on the outskirts of the town of Mattaincourt, the new medico-social establishment (“Maison d’Accueil Spécialisé” - MAS) blends into the landscape, merging with the topography of the surrounding area. It preserves the landscape.

Its roof, onto which the local meadowland extends, contributes to the building’s integration. From the road, the disposition of the building hints at the hollows of the large inner garden and the collective terrace that opens onto the landscape.

The programme for the operation is divided between the two levels. Level with the garden is the administration, staff premises, and public reception areas providing the transition between public and private areas. The forty rooms for residents, common living areas and treatment stations are on the upper floor, looking out over the landscape.

On this upper floor, the traffic areas are generously dimensioned for fluid movement, and all have natural light, thanks to the presence of many colourful patios, which also serve as markers guiding the residents as they move about inside the building.

The rooms are organised in a simple, rational fashion around the periphery of the building and around the inner garden. All are open on two sides, with natural lighting provided by the patios. It is also easy to create a current of air to cool the rooms during the summer. The rooms are only connected to the corridors by their door. All their other openings connect with nature. Each room detaches itself from the institution to form a personal space – the home of its inhabitant.

The dining room, treatment stations, the activity room and the balneotherapy area are grouped around the central space. This is the heart of the building – the spaces open onto a panoramic terrace where people can contemplate the landscape or use the ramp to go down to the gardens.

Nature is omnipresent in the building. It filters the light, transmitting it gently and contributing to the peaceful atmosphere of the building.